Clean water has become increasingly important as both industrialization and population have increased. One contributor to water pollution is the presence of pathogens, such as bacteria, protozoans and viruses in the water. Another contributor to water pollutant is the presence of chemicals and heavy metals in the water. A third contributor to water pollution is solid material suspended or dissolved in the water. Ideally, water pollution is addressed by removing or neutralizing all of the pollutants from the water.
Prior art attempts to purify polluted water have included neutralizing pathogens and/or removing via the addition of chemicals, such as chlorine, polyelectrolytes, and/or flocculants to kill bacteria and/or remove metals therefrom. These techniques necessarily add chemicals to the water, effectively adding “lesser” pollutants to remove “greater” pollutants. In addition to adding new chemicals to the water supply, these techniques first necessitate the production of those chemicals through processes that inherently produce chemical by-products that also must be disposed of and can pose pollution hazards as great or greater than those being addressed in the first place.
Probably the most popular chemical disinfectant is chlorine. However, recent studies have indicated that the addition of concentrations of chlorine to water may lead to the unintentional chlorination of otherwise less harmful chemical compounds to produce carcinogenic chlorinated chemicals. Obviously, a trade-off of bacteria for carcinogens is unacceptable.
Other chemical disinfectants, such as sulfur dioxide, do not exhibit the carcinogen risk of chlorine, but are generally less effective as disinfectants. Therefore, greater quantities of the alternative disinfectants are required to equal the disinfecting power of chlorine, increasing the amount of chemicals added to the water. These alternatives are not only expensive, but constitute significant chemical pollution in their own right.
There is therefore a need for a device or system that purifies water without otherwise adding harmful chemicals thereto. The present invention addresses this need.